Tag: tesla

A Tesla caught fire Tuesday in a business parking lot in Los Gatos, according to the Santa Clara County Fire Department. The silver Tesla Model S caught fire a little after 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Los Gatos Tire and Auto Repair at University Avenue and Industrial Way, fire officials said. No injuries were reported, and the vehicle was not involved in a collision nor was their work being done on it, fire officials said. Fire crews responded and extinguished the blaze, but the batteries conti

A Tesla caught fire Tuesday in a business parking lot in Los Gatos, according to the Santa Clara County Fire Department.

The silver Tesla Model S caught fire a little after 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Los Gatos Tire and Auto Repair at University Avenue and Industrial Way, fire officials said.

No injuries were reported, and the vehicle was not involved in a collision nor was their work being done on it, fire officials said.

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An employee of the tire shop said the vehicle was brought in on a tow truck, and he noticed a hissing sound coming from it, then within minutes, the vehicle was on fire.

Fire crews responded and extinguished the blaze, but the batteries continued to burn long after the larger flames were put out, fire officials said. Crews remained at the scene to keep the batteries cool and ensure they didn’t reignite.

A witness, who did not wish to be named, was walking his dog and said he saw a big plume of white smoke. He did not see how the original fire ignited.

The entire front of the Tesla was charred. The adjacent building was not damaged, fire officials said.

A Tesla spokesperson said in a statement: “We are currently investigating the matter and are in touch with local first responders. We are glad to hear that everyone is safe.”

With a modified Tesla Model X zipping through a Boring Company tunnel Tuesday night, Elon Musk took the wraps off his vision of a high-speed tunnel system he believes could ease congestion and revolutionize how millions of commuters get around cities. “I thought it was epic,” said Musk as he described how he felt being whisked through the Boring Co.’s demonstration tunnel. The other end of the demonstration tunnel is in a neighborhood about a mile away in Hawthorne. Tuesday afternoon, the Boring

With a modified Tesla Model X zipping through a Boring Company tunnel Tuesday night, Elon Musk took the wraps off his vision of a high-speed tunnel system he believes could ease congestion and revolutionize how millions of commuters get around cities.

“I thought it was epic,” said Musk as he described how he felt being whisked through the Boring Co.’s demonstration tunnel. “For me it was an epiphany, like ‘this thing damn well worked.'”

Musk, who founded the Boring Co. two years ago after complaining that traffic in Los Angeles was driving him “nuts,” says the demonstration tunnel cost approximately $10 million to complete. Engineers and workers have been boring the 1.14-mile-long tunnel underneath one of the main streets in Hawthorne, California. One end of the tunnel starts in a parking lot owned by Musk’s Space X. The other end of the demonstration tunnel is in a neighborhood about a mile away in Hawthorne.

During his Tuesday evening presentation, Musk described the Boring Co.’s tunnels as “an actual solution to the soul-crushing burden of traffic,” laying out the ways they could be integrated into cities to one day make transportation faster and easier.

Tuesday afternoon, the Boring Co. gave reporters demonstration rides through the tunnel in modified Tesla Model X SUVs, going between 40 and 50 miles per hour. Engineers have attached deployable alignment wheels to the two front wheels of the Model X. Those alignment wheels stick out to the side of the main wheels and act as a bumper along the track walls inside the tunnel, keeping the Model X on course and preventing the vehicle from running into the side walls of the tunnel.

A Tesla senior sales executive, Dan Kim, has left the company, according to a person familiar with the matter. Kim, who joined Tesla in January, left for online travel site Airbnb, Bloomberg News first reported Tuesday. The job change was also reflected on a LinkedIn page that appears to belong to Kim, who was listed as the former head of global sales, marketing and delivery operations at Tesla. Kim was a senior director in global sales and marketing under Robin Ren, the vice president of worldw

A Tesla senior sales executive, Dan Kim, has left the company, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Kim, who joined Tesla in January, left for online travel site Airbnb, Bloomberg News first reported Tuesday. The job change was also reflected on a LinkedIn page that appears to belong to Kim, who was listed as the former head of global sales, marketing and delivery operations at Tesla.

Kim departed last month and his duties at the electric automaker are being handled by other people on his team, according to the person. Kim was a senior director in global sales and marketing under Robin Ren, the vice president of worldwide sales at Tesla.

Tesla declined to comment. Airbnb didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prior to joining Tesla, Kim held executive roles in marketing at Solera, a company that makes vehicle analytics, according to his Wikipedia and LinkedIn pages. Before that Kim founded a chain of frozen yogurt stores called Red Mango.

Tesla has experienced intense turnover at several levels in its ranks. In September, short seller Jim Chanos compiled a list that showed the company had lost more than 40 executives in 2018. In late November, CNBC reported that Tesla’s global head of security left after 11 months on the job and the company’s head of digital product confirmed in December he has left the company.

Elon Musk Tesla’s pickup truck is coming and it’s going to look “really futuristic-like cyberpunk, ‘Blade Runner,'” he told Recode in November (referring to the sci-fi movie). Now, Musk says there might be a prototype of that “heart-stopping” truck as soon as 2019, because “he’s “dying to make a pickup truck so bad,” he tweeted Tuesday. In the Twitter exchange, Musk said the pickup will have “dual motor all-wheel drive w crazy torque & a suspension that dynamically adjusts for load. Those will b

Now, Musk says there might be a prototype of that “heart-stopping” truck as soon as 2019, because “he’s “dying to make a pickup truck so bad,” he tweeted Tuesday.

Musk’s tweet has since racked up over 4,000 likes and prompted nearly 600 comments.

The Tesla CEO has already shared an image of the what the pickup might look like (above).

Though Musk told Recode he couldn’t share details on the pickup, in June, he asked his millions of Twitter followers what they would like to see in the truck and got thousands of responses.

In the Twitter exchange, Musk said the pickup will have “dual motor all-wheel drive w crazy torque & a suspension that dynamically adjusts for load. Those will be standard” and “Pickup truck will have power outlets allowing use of heavy duty 240V, high power tools in field all day. No generator needed.”

When a Twitter user suggested the vehicle should be able to detect a young child crossing in front of the car, Musk responded, “Camera & onboard neural net should detect [that]. If very close (below 15 ft), will show up on ultrasonics.”

In 2017, Musk tweeted the pickup would be unveiled “in 18 to 24 months,” but more recently said the pickup would be made after Tesla’s Model 3 (now in production) and its upcoming Y SUV, according to CNBC.

But a pickup isn’t the only thing Musk has in mind for Tesla: In a Dec. 9 tweet, Musk revealed that Tesla is testing automated driving with no driver input and Musk said the results “will blow your mind. Automatically passes slow cars & takes highway interchanges & off-ramps,” he tweeted.

“Already testing traffic lights, stop signs & roundabouts in development software,” he added. “Your Tesla will soon be able to go from your garage at home to parking at work with no driver input at all.”

Don’t miss: If you invested $1,000 in Tesla in 2010, here’s how much you’d have now

If you invested in Tesla in 2010, when it made its initial public offering, that investment would definitely have paid off. A $1,000 investment would be worth more than $21,000 as of Dec. 12, according to CNBC calculations, including price appreciation and dividend gains reinvested. While the company’s stock has performed well over the years, though, any individual stock can over- or under-perform and past returns do not predict future results. CNBC: Tesla stock as of Dec. 12, 2018In an intervie

Despite some lingering controversy around Tesla’s co-founder and chief executive officer Elon Musk, the automaker’s shares are up 37 percent in the past three months, and the company was a top performer in the Nasdaq 100 on Monday, even amid steep stock market dips.

If you invested in Tesla in 2010, when it made its initial public offering, that investment would definitely have paid off. A $1,000 investment would be worth more than $21,000 as of Dec. 12, according to CNBC calculations, including price appreciation and dividend gains reinvested.

While the company’s stock has performed well over the years, though, any individual stock can over- or under-perform and past returns do not predict future results.

In September, Musk was forced to step down as chairman of Tesla’s board of directors for three years in a deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission after he wrote on Twitter that he was considering taking the company private, and he remains a polarizing figure.

CNBC: Tesla stock as of Dec. 12, 2018

In an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Musk said that, while he plans to comply with the settlement, he does not respect the SEC itself. He made no apologies for his recent behavior, including one incident where he appeared to smoke marijuana and drink whiskey on comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast, and another where he suggested that a diver in the Thailand cave rescue was a “pedo.”

Musk said that he sees himself as “somewhat impulsive” and that he doesn’t want to “try to adhere to some CEO template.” “I’m just being me,” he told CBS. “I was certainly under insane stress and crazy, crazy hours. But the system would have failed if I was truly erratic.”

In response to both Musk’s behavior andhis comments about the SEC, on a recent episode of CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Jim Cramer, host of “Mad Money,” said, “This man plays by no rules. He’s his own worst enemy. I don’t understand why anyone would do this. He clearly thinks he’s above the law or he would not ‘diss’ the agency that he has a plea deal [with].”

Tesla would consider buying the factories that General Motors intends to idle, CEO Elon Musk said in an interview that aired on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” But the system would have failed if I was truly erratic,” Musk said. The SEC forced Musk to step down as chairman of the board for three years. “I want to be clear: I do not respect the SEC,” Musk said. WATCH: How taxpayers have helped Elon Musk and Tesla

Tesla would consider buying the factories that General Motors intends to idle, CEO Elon Musk said in an interview that aired on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”

“It’s possible that we would be interested. If they were going to sell a plant or not use it that we would take it over,” he said.

In a wide-ranging interview with Lesley Stahl, Musk made no apologies for his erratic behavior over the summer and reiterated his lack of respect for the Securities and Exchange Commission, which sued him in September for allegedly defrauding investors after tweeting that he wanted to take the company public at $420 a share and had “funding secured.” He didn’t and pulled back on those plans a few weeks later.

“Nobody’s perfect,” he said.

Musk acknowledged that he was “somewhat impulsive,” adding that he “didn’t really want to try to adhere to some CEO template.” He stoked controversy all summer with his erratic behavior, taunting the SEC, calling a diver in the Thai cave rescue a “pedo” and capping the summer by appearing to smoke pot on the Joe Rogan podcast.

“I’m just being me. I mean, I was certainly under insane stress and crazy, crazy hours. But the system would have failed if I was truly erratic,” Musk said.

The SEC forced Musk to step down as chairman of the board for three years. The company named Robyn Denholm, who was already on the board, as chairwoman.

“I want to be clear: I do not respect the SEC,” Musk said. “I do not respect them.” But he said he was adhering to the agreement because he respects the U.S. justice system.

He scoffed at the idea that Denholm was put in place to keep him in line. “Yeah. It, it’s not realistic in the sense that I am the largest shareholder in the company. And I can just call for a shareholder vote and get anything done that I want,” Musk said.

He said he does not want to return to the role of chairman. “I actually just prefer to have no titles at all.”

Tesla has struggled to ramp up production of its much hyped Model 3 midsize sedan. The company resorted to building a second assembly line inside a tent-like structure next to its main assembly plant in Fremont, California. The decision, like many Tesla has made, was ridiculed by some in the industry.

“Those betting against the company were right by all conventional standards that we would fail,” he said, “but they just did not count on this unconventional situation of creating a second assembly in the parking lot in a tent.”

Musk said the long-awaited $35,000 version of the Model 3 will “probably” be available in five to six months. That is the price of the vehicle Tesla originally promised would be an electric sedan for the masses when it was first unveiled in March 2016. Since then, however, Tesla has only made higher-priced versions of the car.

Musk admitted he is notorious for missing deadlines.

“Well, I mean punctuality’s not my strong suit. I think, uh well, why would people think that if I’ve been late on all the other models, that’d I’d be suddenly on time with this one,” he said.

Tesla is on pace to begin production at its factory in China in the second half of next year, the Shanghai government said Wednesday. Land leveling is basically complete and construction is about to begin, with the factory expected to be put partially into operation in the second half of 2019, according to an official WeChat post from the government. The article described a visit by Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong and Vice Mayor Wu Qing. In mid-October, Tesla officially acquired an 864,885-square meter

Tesla is on pace to begin production at its factory in China in the second half of next year, the Shanghai government said Wednesday.

Land leveling is basically complete and construction is about to begin, with the factory expected to be put partially into operation in the second half of 2019, according to an official WeChat post from the government. The article described a visit by Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong and Vice Mayor Wu Qing.

Tesla did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

In mid-October, Tesla officially acquired an 864,885-square meter plot in Shanghai’s Lingang area for the electric car maker’s first factory outside the U.S.

Elon Musk’s company has also launched an official WeChat account for hiring locals.

Producing in China, the world’s largest market for electric vehicles, would allow Tesla to reduce costs significantly. The company has said it is operating at a 55 percent to 60 percent cost disadvantage with a domestic peer due to ocean transport costs and tariffs.

He made that call in 2011 as Morgan Stanley’s auto analyst, saying Tesla was set to “shake-up” the “complacent” auto industry. The prediction earned Jonas a reputation inside Morgan Stanley as “kind of a mad scientist,” he said in a recent interview. Now he’s doing it again – but with the space industry. After that, Jonas started gathering other Morgan Stanley analysts to help him research the space industry. This year has been “very, very active in terms of capital formation and then technologi

Adam Jonas became famous – and to some, infamous – on Wall Street when he called for Tesla’s stock to more than double to $70 a share.

He made that call in 2011 as Morgan Stanley’s auto analyst, saying Tesla was set to “shake-up” the “complacent” auto industry. He continued to follow up with bullish price target increases as the electric automaker’s shares rose. While Tesla has been a volatile stock in the years since, it now trades at around $350 a share.

The prediction earned Jonas a reputation inside Morgan Stanley as “kind of a mad scientist,” he said in a recent interview. Now he’s doing it again – but with the space industry.

His interest in Tesla naturally led him to SpaceX, Elon Musk’s other ambitious transportation venture, which Jonas believes is bound to affect the future of the electric car maker. SpaceX is getting into broadband technologies at the same time the auto industry and Tesla are pushing into advanced technologies like autonomous driving.

“We didn’t start out one day thinking ‘hey, let’s do space,’ necessarily,” Jonas said. While visiting Tesla in 2010, Jonas stopped by SpaceX. After that, Jonas started gathering other Morgan Stanley analysts to help him research the space industry.

His early efforts may be about to pay off. This year has been “very, very active in terms of capital formation and then technological advancement” in the space industry, he said. And Morgan Stanley has been talking to many of the new space companies, including: OneWeb, Rocket Lab, Vector, FireFly Aerospace, Spaceflight Industries, Planet Labs, Spire Global, BridgeSat and NanoRacks – to name a few.

The U.S. head of Nio, an electric car-maker seen as one of the main Chinese rivals to Tesla, will leave the company, the firm said in a filing on Friday, the first major management departure since its September IPO. Padmasree Warrior, chief executive officer of NIO USA and global chief development officer, will resign from her posts on Dec. 17 for “personal interests”, the company said. Warrior joined Nio, previously called NextEV, in 2015, and led the company along with founder and CEO William

The U.S. head of Nio, an electric car-maker seen as one of the main Chinese rivals to Tesla, will leave the company, the firm said in a filing on Friday, the first major management departure since its September IPO.

Padmasree Warrior, chief executive officer of NIO USA and global chief development officer, will resign from her posts on Dec. 17 for “personal interests”, the company said.

Warrior joined Nio, previously called NextEV, in 2015, and led the company along with founder and CEO William Li to become one of China’s most legitimate challengers in the global race to develop electric vehicles.

Before joining Nio, Warrior was chief technology and strategy officer at Cisco Systems and chief technology officer at Motorola.

China is the world’s largest and fast-growing market for new-energy vehicles (NEVs), a category comprising electric battery cars and plug-in electric hybrids.

NEV sales in the first 10 months of 2018 came in at 860,000 vehicles, up 75.6 percent year-on-year.

Competition is, however, rising as Beijing looks to rein in subsidies that led to a huge array of EV contenders entering the market. Some of those are now being weeded out.

Tesla itself is building a car manufacturing plant in Shanghai to bolster its presence in the market and reduce its prices to become more competitive.

Nio’s shares – up strongly this year on robust revenue growth and bullish views from some analysts – dropped more than 4 percent in U.S. trading on Thursday.

The U.S. head of Nio, an electric carmaker seen as one of the main Chinese rivals to Tesla, will leave the company, the firm said in a filing on Friday, the first major management departure since its September IPO. Padmasree Warrior, chief executive officer of NIO USA and global chief development officer, will resign from her posts on Dec. 17 for “personal interests,” the company said. Warrior joined Nio, previously called NextEV, in 2015, and led the company along with founder and CEO William L

The U.S. head of Nio, an electric carmaker seen as one of the main Chinese rivals to Tesla, will leave the company, the firm said in a filing on Friday, the first major management departure since its September IPO.

Padmasree Warrior, chief executive officer of NIO USA and global chief development officer, will resign from her posts on Dec. 17 for “personal interests,” the company said.

Warrior joined Nio, previously called NextEV, in 2015, and led the company along with founder and CEO William Li to become one of China’s most legitimate challengers in the global race to develop electric vehicles.

Before joining Nio, Warrior was chief technology and strategy officer at Cisco Systems and chief technology officer at Motorola.

China is the world’s largest and fast-growing market for new-energy vehicles (NEVs), a category comprising electric battery cars and plug-in electric hybrids.

NEV sales in the first 10 months of 2018 came in at 860,000 vehicles, up 75.6 percent year-on-year.

Competition is, however, rising as Beijing looks to rein in subsidies that led to a huge array of EV contenders entering the market. Some of those are now being weeded out.

Tesla itself is building a car manufacturing plant in Shanghai to bolster its presence in the market and reduce its prices to become more competitive.

Nio’s shares — up strongly this year on robust revenue growth and bullish views from some analysts — dropped more than 4 percent in U.S. trading on Thursday.